9.18

Sanskrit

गतिर्भर्ता प्रभुः साक्षी निवासः शरणं सुहृत् । प्रभवः प्रलयः स्थानं निधानं बीजमव्ययम् ॥

gatir bhartā prabhuḥ sākṣī nivāsaḥ śaraṇaṃ suhṛt prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaṃ nidhānaṃ bījam avyayam

Translation

The Path, Husband, Lord, Witness, Abode, Shelter, Lover, Origin, Dissolution, Foundation, house, Seed imperishable.

Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain

Explanation

The densest list in the run — twelve terms across two lines, several of them paired opposites (origin and dissolution). Where verses 16-17 identified Krishna with ritual and scriptural objects, this verse shifts to structural and relational roles — witness, shelter, refuge — setting up the move to elemental opposites in verse 19.